


A Flower Girl's Hope

by Astrid_Midnight



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Aerith Week 2021, Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29381658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astrid_Midnight/pseuds/Astrid_Midnight
Summary: The times that Aerith prayed.From beginning to end._Written for Day 6 of Aerith Week.Prompt: Prayer
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough & Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough & Ifalna, Zack Fair & Aerith Gainsborough
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	A Flower Girl's Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 6 of Aerith Week.
> 
> Prompt: Prayer  
> _  
> I had a lot of ideas for this prompt, including my interpretation of some scenes and a few that I came up with, so I decided to write all of them!! I had a lot of fun writing this so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The first time Aerith prayed was after her mother taught her how.

It was after Aerith watched her mother being taken away by Hojo and his scientists one day. She didn’t know what they intended to do with her, but all Aerith could remember was the crippling fear as she sat in her room alone, waiting for her mother to return. After that, she ran into her mother’s arms, crying her eyes out.

She had asked her mother why they had to suffer. Why her mother was always the one that the scientists wanted. And what she could do to make it better. All Ilfana did was smile sadly at her daughter and hugged her tightly, telling her that she didn’t need to do anything, except to keep having hope.

That’s when she mentioned praying. Aerith had seen her mother praying at night and always wondered what it meant. Ifalna had reassured Aerith that the voices she could hear weren’t dangerous but instead lost souls that had not yet returned to the planet. The voices she could hear were their solemn cries trying to reach their loved ones one final time. Sometimes, Ifalna explained, they could pray to the planet itself, whenever the Cetra needed aid.

Aerith had enthusiastically asked her mother to teach her how to do it, if she could help in anyway. Ifalna laughed and said that she would, teaching how to commune with and hear the voices of the planet.

So, that night as she and Ifalna went to sleep, Aerith prayed for the first time.

She prayed to the planet, asking for help to free her and her mother.

That they could escape together.

* * *

The second time Aerith prayed was when her mother was dying.

All she could remember was begging the planet to not take her mother away as she laid bleeding out by the train station. Ifalna’s strength was fading and Aerith frantically shook her mother, begging her not to go.

A woman approached them but Aerith refused to take her eyes off her mother. Maybe there was something she could do, to heal her mother, to stop her soul from leaving, to get away from-

“Take Aerith somewhere safe,” her mother rasped out to the woman.

Ifalna went limp.

Aerith could sense her mother’s soul leave and up into the sky. She silently begged for her mother to stay, asking the planet to not let her leave.

Her mother never answered.

The tears came back even more and Aerith cried over her mother’s body. The woman dropped beside her and began say gentle words to her, that everything was okay, that she was going to be fine. But it wasn’t. None of it was going to be fine.

The woman, who said her name was Elmyra, said that she would take Aerith somewhere where she would be safe, that she would take care of her. With a shaky but kind smile, Elmyra slowly held out her arms and Aerith looked her reluctantly. The last thing Aerith wanted was to leave behind her mother but she had to accept that she was gone. That she had returned to the planet and there was nothing else she could do to help her. Continuing to cry, Aerith flung herself into Elmyra’s arms and the woman held her tightly before standing up, whispering soothing words to her.

As Elmyra began walking, Aerith kept her eyes closed so that she didn’t have to look back at her mother’s lifeless body.

* * *

The third time Aerith prayed was when she heard a voice.

Aerith had heard voices of people who hadn’t returned to the planet many times. Sometimes she listened to what they wanted to say, sometimes, on days where it was too much for her to take, she ignored them.

However, on this particular day, a voice said something that caught her attention.

“Elmyra…”

Aerith’s head shot up from where she was reading a book. “What?”, she asked out loud. “What did you say?”

“I wanted to say goodbye,” a man’s voice cried silently. “To tell her how much I loved her one last time…”

Aerith placed a hand on her heart, quickly realising what the man was saying. A man that loved Elmyra had just died. And wherever he died, he travelled a long way to reach her. Aerith had a feeling she knew who he was. She had seen pictures of the man in the house and had overhead Elmyra talking to friends about someone who hadn’t arrived home yet. It always made her sad.

He kept saying her name, even as his soul began to return to the planet little by little. Aerith could tell that it was difficult for him. Slowly clasping her hands together, Aerith prayed that the man would return to the planet without pain, that he could finally rest in peace.

A few minutes later, the voice had gone silent. Aerith sat in silence for a while, wondering if she would hear him again. She felt guilty that the man couldn’t reach Elmyra or tell her how he felt before he returned to the planet. Only Aerith had the power to hear him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to the empty room.

Aerith exited her room and watched Elmyra washing dishes from the top of the stairs. She frowned; she didn’t want to make her sad by telling her that someone she loved had died. On the other hand, she deserved to know what he wanted her to hear.

She reluctantly made her way down the stairs and stood beside Elmyra. She took in a deep breath.

“Mom, don’t be sad…”

* * *

The fourth time Aerith prayed was when she heard a faint voice in the church.

She was tending to the flowers, the sun shining through the hole in the roof. They were growing particularly well that day, the yellow petals quickly blooming. She had spent a few hours tending to the flowers when it began to rain.

It started very suddenly, despite the bright sun that shone throughout the day, droplets quickly fall into the church. Aerith didn’t mind it too much; the rain was good for the flowers.

What caught Aerith off guard was the whisper she heard within the rain. When she heard the voice, she immediately paused in tending to the flowers and looked up at the ceiling in the church, where the hole was.

Whoever was returning to the planet, their soul was lingering around the church. It wasn’t new to Aerith, souls returning to the planet travelled here, the church being a central point above the lifestream. But this one came from… outside of Midgar?

Why would a soul that died outside of Midgar want to travel all the way to the church?

Curious, Aerith stood up from the flowerbed, listening intently for the voice, putting her full attention on sensing its soul. She walked over so that she was standing understanding underneath the hole in the ceiling as if she could hear its voice more clearly. For some reason, she couldn’t hear the voice but one thing that she knew was that soul was in pain.

Despite the soul’s faint voice, she could its whispers. Something about it seemed… sad. Regretful. Like, they were missing someone. Someone that they loved, that they hadn’t seen in so long… that they wanted to see one last time.

It… reminded Aerith of when she heard Elmyra’s husband wanting to say goodbye all those years ago. The memory brought tears to her eyes and she took in a shaky breath. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, praying that this soul made it to lifestream peacefully. That, whoever, it was that they wanted to say goodbye to, that they would see them again someday.

She hadn’t prayed that often since the day she heard Elmyra’s husband. She didn’t like hearing the voices and she definitely didn’t like hearing how the people around her had died.

She felt the soul slowly slipping into the lifestream though she also felt some resistance from it. She didn’t find that surprising, it was natural for souls to not want to leave their loved ones so soon.

Just as the remnants of the soul finally returned to the planet, its voice suddenly became clear as day.

A voice that she hadn’t heard in four years.

“Aerith…”

Feeling as if her heart was ripped from her chest, Aerith looked up to the sky with a pained gasp.

She immediately unclasped her hands and stumbled back, almost tripping over her feet.

_Zack._

That was Zack’s voice.

It had to be.

Despite not hearing his voice for almost four years, Aerith could recognise Zack’s anywhere. She hadn’t heard from him since their final phone call after he left for a mission. Even though she never got a reply, Aerith continued to write him letters. She had no idea whether he was getting the letters, but she still continued to send them to him. She even considered asking Tseng or Rude about Zack whenever she next caught sight of them. She would either hesitate to ask or whenever she did, they seemed to avoid answering any of her questions.

It wasn’t until recently that she had come to terms with the fact that the reason that he never replied to her letters was probably because… he didn’t want to.

Because he found someone else.

In the time that she dated Zack, however, she knew that he wasn’t the type to just cut contact. What other explanation could there have been to explain his sudden disappearance?

Except that he…

That he was…

Aerith collapsed to her kness and cried. “Zack… please, _no_ …”

The way that his soul had travelled from outside Midgar, expressing that he wanted to see someone one final time.

The fact that he travelled to the church… she didn’t have to think about that.

She could feel it all:

His gentle voice calling her name.

The pain he felt in his final moments.

The feeling of his soul slipping into the lifestream and up into the sky.

Much like her mother all those years ago.

“The sky… I hate it,” she sobbed.

* * *

The fifth time Aerith prayed was when she was kneeling at the altar.

She had travelled to the Forgotten City on her own, where she knew what she needed to do. She had gotten her answers. The seemingly useless materia that her mother had given her all those years ago was suddenly the most important thing she ever possessed. It had the power to summon a spell that could save the world.

And only she could use it.

_Don’t worry, just the fate of the whole planet in your hands. Literally. No pressure, though._

When she first reached the altar, she hesitantly and slowly knelt down, suddenly aware of the materia’s weight on her. Something felt wrong about doing this on her own but Aerith her to keep her resolve.

She had thought about asking the others to accompany her, they would probably be able to guard her, but Aerith ultimately decided against it. This was her fight. Her duty. She had to do it on her own. She didn’t want the others to potentially get hurt by getting involved. They also had Cloud to worry about; she couldn’t risk him getting hurt again.

She had spoken to Cloud through his dreams before she left. She hoped that her words would provide him some comfort. That, once she was done, everything would be okay. She would be back. There would be no need to worry anymore. Just as long as she succeeded.

Of course, Aerith knew her friends. She knew that they would follow her eventually once Cloud woke up and told everyone where she was going. She hoped that she would be done by the time they found her.

With all of the trust and faith she had in her friends, Aerith closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and prayed.

It wasn’t like her other prayers though. In the past, she had prayed that she and her mother wouldn’t suffer anymore. That her mother wouldn’t die. That all of the souls roaming the planet would find peace.

But now, she had to pray for the entire planet.

The planet never answered her prayers when she begged for her mother’s to be spared.

Fate was cruel like that.

Maybe the planet would be a little more merciful this time.

She begged, pleaded with the planet. She thought of everything that she loved and cherished. All of the friends she had made on this journey were lives that she’d risk everything for.

The silence around her was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. She knew it wasn’t Sephiroth; it didn’t have the dark presence that he possessed. Whoever it was, though, they weren’t speaking.

She heard the all too familiar sound of the Buster Sword being drawn. The sound made her tremble slightly but Aerith didn’t cease her praying. She knew him. She trusted him. He’d never hurt her, not on purpose.

Aerith could hear the sound of Cloud struggling. Against what she knew was Sephiroth’s control. The same thing when he attacked her. She knew it wasn’t really him. It was all Sephiroth. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through right now, but she hoped that stopping Sephiroth’s plan would help stop whatever it was that he was doing to Cloud.

“Cloud!”

“Stop!”

“Don’t do it!”

All of their friend’s voices overlapped. She could feel Cloud’s presence, the sword above her head, but she couldn’t falter. Not when she was so close.

This was the last chance they had to stop Sephiroth now that he could summon Meteor.

She had rejected her heritage all her life, it only brought her nothing but grief. But now, she had to accept it. That only she had the power to save everything that she cherished.

She heard Cloud gasp and stumble back a few steps. The sword clattered to the ground. “Wh- What are you making me do?!”

_There._

There it was.

She had done it.

The planet heard her.

Her prayers were answered.

Aerith slowly opened her eyes and looked up.

She saw Cloud’s guilty, shellshocked face.

Despite it all, she smiled gently at him.

She left him. She left all of them. And yet he came after her. He found her. And her prayers were answered.

Everything was going to be okay.

They were going to stop Sephiroth, save the planet and-

A sharp pain exploded from her back and through her entire body.

The pain was so sudden, she barely registered it.

Her mouth opened in shock, a silent scream barely leaving her throat. Her arms dropped to her sides like a puppet with its strings cut. The sword was sharply pulled from her body. Her vision dimmed with tears.

She fell forward, her ribbon becoming undone, her hair spilling over her shoulders. She felt her materia fall out of her hair. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that it was glowing.

The last thing she saw before her eyes slipped shut was Cloud reaching out to her.

Everyone called her name but she didn’t register their voices.

She felt herself being cradled in someone’s arms.

And then she was gone.

* * *

The sixth time Aerith prayed was when Meteor was descending.

“Lend me you power, everyone!”, she cried out desperately. “I can’t do this alone.”

She felt the dark power of Meteor overwhelming the planet. Holy wasn’t enough to stop it. Even without him blocking her magic, Meteor was still approaching. Cloud and her friends had stopped him but that was all they could do.

Now it was up to _them_.

“Let’s all protect the Planet!”

Aerith prayed and called out to all of the souls she had met while travelling through the lifestream. Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, Dyne, _Zack_. She heard all of their determined voices, along with countless others who had returned to the planet. Their souls all exclaimed the same desire: to protect the planet and everyone they loved on it. They all stood with each other, focusing their minds on their loved ones and their souls on channelling their energies.

Aerith prayed for the lifestream to break through the planet. Their final chance to save everything they know.

Together, they willed their energy to emerge from the lifestream and through the surface. The tendrils of green and white danced across the land and up into the sky. Towards Meteor. The tendrils formed a barrier against the calamity and wrapped itself around it.

“Hey, Aerith,” Zack called out from beside her. “Did you see Cloud’s finishing? That was one of my sword techniques too? Doesn’t it make you fall in love again!”

Despite everything, Aerith couldn’t help but laugh. It reminded her of the life she had before. The lives they didn’t have anymore. The ones that they all wanted to protect in the land of the living.

With all of her heart, Aerith prayed that all of their souls were enough to save everything they cherished in life.

Meteor exploded.

The planet was consumed by a blinding white light.

They did it.

They were saved.

Aerith opened her eyes and smiled.

* * *

The seventh time Aerith prayed, the planet was overrun by an incurable disease.

She should’ve known that Sephiroth wouldn’t disappear into the lifestream so easily. That he would give up everything he had planned. Everything Jenova had started.

Aerith watched with a heavy heart as Geostigma ravaged the planet, watching as loved ones were torn apart, children taken from their families. She covered her mouth with a hand and held back a cry. She had watched souls taken by Geostigma enter the lifestream and Aerith had never felt so helpless. She wanted nothing more than to prevent any more lives from being taken.

But someone was in her way.

She had been desperately praying to the planet for a way to cure the stigma for the last two years. Sephiroth had corrupted everything even after his death, stopping her attempts at helping at every turn. And now, with the possibility of his return looming closer, she needed to act soon.

She concentrated her entire soul on the lifestream. She thought about all of the people who were suffering because of Geostigma, all of the innocent lives that were already taken by the illness. She thought about the Cetra’s duty to protect and safeguard the planet, no matter what happened.

Despite the sinister presence roaming the planet and the lifestream, Aerith kept her determination. She had managed to use the lifestream to protect the planet against Meteor. Maybe she could do something similar now.

Cloud had chased Kadaj, one of Sephiroth’s remnants, into her church. He had the remains of Jenova, meaning that he was close to resurrecting Sephiroth. Even if he was successful, there was still a chance to cure the stigma. Watching them fight made Aerith even more desperate for a solution.

And then, at last, her prayers were answered.

Water began bubbling from underneath where her flowerbed had once laid. A spring of water had burst from the soil. Tendrils of water twirled up into the air. When they met in the centre, the water burst into droplets that rained down on the entire church.

The water had created a protective barrier between Cloud and Kadaj, which seemed to harm the latter when he came into contact with the rain. The pain had prompted him to retreat, allowing Cloud to get his bearings.

Her heart was lifted as she watched the painful black bruising on Cloud’s arm faded away in a healing green light. That meant her rain had worked.

It had _worked!_

If Cloud was healed, that meant everyone else could be as well. She just had to expand the healing rain to everyone.

Geostigma could finally be defeated.

But the battle wasn’t over yet.

“Let’s go, Cloud…”, she spoke through the rain and petals.

* * *

The last time Aerith prayed was after she and Zack returned to the afterlife.

They had watched their friends and loved ones rejoice as the people were cured of Geostigma.

She watched her friends happily cheer and laugh as the rest of children jumped into the pool of healing water, the black bruising of the stigma fading away one by one. It made her feel slightly wistful, wishing that she could have been able to celebrate this moment with all of them.

Aerith watched over Denzel and the other children that were being healed, her heart lifting as their suffering was finally over. She had watched people afflicted with Geostigma suffer through pain and loss for two years, so watching them being healed made her hopeful that their world was finally saved.

Happy that everyone was finally healed and celebrating, Aerith began to walk towards a door of light where Zack was waiting. She wanted to see for herself that Cloud and the others were okay and was relieved to see him finally happy.

She felt Cloud’s gaze on her as she walked across the church. When she reached the door, she turned around and smiled warmly at him.

“You see? Everything’s alright,” she whispered to him.

As Aerith and Zack had watched over the people rejoicing, they saw Cloud smile as well. It was a rare sight in the last two years, so it gave them hope that he could live happily. He finally looked like he was ready to heal. They both appeared to Cloud, hoping that seeing them would let him know that they were okay. And that, now, he was okay as well. He could now live out his life happily, unburdened by guilt.

She turned back around and watched Zack wave at Cloud before they both passed through the light together.

Aerith closed her eyes with a heavy sigh.

When she felt Zack place a hand on her shoulder, she turned to him with tears in her eyes. Zack’s were glistening as well but he was smiling widely.

Aerith let out a sharp laugh as the tears flowed over. “We did it… we actually did it.”

Zack chuckled as well. “Yeah, we did.” He looked back through the light. “Knew my buddy had it in him.”

They both had watched as Cloud defeated Sephiroth like he did all those years ago. For a moment, it seemed like Cloud was close to breaking down from the fight but he had found his resolve and determination to make sure that Sephiroth did not hurt anyone again.

Their world was saved.

“What do we do now?”, Aerith asked.

Zack was silent for a second, clearly in thought. “I think,” he said finally. “We can rest.”

“Rest?”, Aerith asked, as if the word was unfamiliar to her.

She had never really thought about resting like the rest of the souls in the lifestream. Ever since she had died, Aerith had never been able to rest. She had travelled the lifestream meeting all of the lost souls, using the lifestream to protect the planet from Meteor and now she had spent the last two years trying to find a solution to the Geostigma. It was her duty as the last Cetra but also for her love for the people she saw as family, the world and all of its people.

It was all she had thought of doing: saving everything that she loved and cherished.

She had been praying and hoping that all would be alright for her whole life. She never thought about being able to rest.

But maybe now it was time to rest for a while.

“That sounds like a pretty good idea,” she said.

Zack gave her a small smile. “You ready?”, he asked her.

Aerith nodded. She clasped her hands together in a final prayer, that her friends had a happy and safe future.

_I love you all,_ she said, hoping her friends could hear her.

_This isn’t goodbye_.

She would always be there to watch over them.

_Always._

With a relieved smile on her face, Aerith closed her eyes.

She could finally rest.

She finally found _peace._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> Twitter: @xvsylleblossoms


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